Athletic Activity in the Ancient World, An Outline

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In ancient Greece athletic activity in the ancient world fell into 2 categories: competitive athletics in public religious festivals (victors won prizes and honored with statues and poems) or sporting events in a gymnasium. 2. The two categories were brought about by different beliefs in how the Olympics began: a. According to Philostratos, an ancient Greek author and philosopher during this time, the first contest was held during the festival at Olympia in 776 B.C. where many competitive races were held. This was a race in which the athletes ran around the circumference of the stadium. b. The Games can be seen as a religious worship of the gods and heroes. c. This idea that the Olympics were seen as worship just supports the belief that the gods in fact began the Olympic Games. In one story, five brothers fought to protect baby Zeus (King of the gods) by running in a race where the victor was crowned with an olive branch crown—thus beginning the Olympic Games. This story is closer to what happened during the ancient Greek Games but there are many other stories that exemplify the god’s part in the Games. 3. The Olympic Games were seen as a status symbol—if you were not part of higher class you were not able to participate and win a. Kind of like the Hunger Games book today where in Districts one, two and three the tributes were to train for their whole life to win while others were just thrown in. b. Another example would be ancient China--where
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